- ARAB NEWS
- 30 Mar 2026
Since 1975
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Saturday called on Iran to refrain from targeting neighboring countries, while affirming Tehran’s right to defend itself against Israel and the United States.
In a rare appeal, Hamas also urged the international community to work toward ending the war that has gripped the Middle East since it began on February 28.
“While affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, the movement calls on the brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighboring countries,” Hamas said in a statement — its first such public appeal to Tehran.
Hamas, which fought a devastating two-year war with Israel in Gaza, also called on the international community to “work toward halting” the ongoing war immediately.
The group previously condemned the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the war as a “heinous crime,” openly acknowledging his longstanding support for the Palestinian movement.
“He provided all forms of political, diplomatic and military support to our people, our cause, and our resistance,” the movement said soon after the killing of Khamenei.
Despite facing superior US and Israeli firepower, Iran has retaliated with missile and drone attacks against at least 10 countries.
Qatar said it intercepted two missiles on Saturday, after blasts were heard in the capital Doha and authorities said they had evacuated some areas.
Hamas’s appeal to Iran comes as its ally, the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, has once again thrown itself into the conflict, firing hundreds of rockets at Israel in the immediate aftermath of the war’s outbreak.
Hezbollah entered the fighting after Khamenei’s killing, and since then Israeli strikes have killed nearly 800 people in Lebanon, according to the country’s health ministry.
Qatar, Turkiye targeted
Hamas’s appeal for Iran to stop targeting regional states is notable, given that Tehran has long been one of the group’s most important backers.
Analysts estimate that Iran provided Hamas with tens of millions of dollars annually.
Under the late Khamenei, Iran viewed support for Palestinian groups such as Hamas as a central pillar of its regional strategy against Israel and its allies.
Several Sunni-majority states have also maintained ties with Hamas, especially Qatar and Turkiye.
Qatar has been a key financial supporter linked to Gaza during Hamas’ rule, with much of its funding described as humanitarian or reconstruction aid –covering civil servant salaries, fuel, and infrastructure.
Critics argue that because Hamas governed all of Gaza until the war began in the Palestinian territory after October 7, 2023, some of this assistance indirectly bolstered the group’s political authority.
Qatar has also hosted Hamas’s political leadership in Doha, which has allowed the group to maintain international contacts and participate in negotiations and mediation efforts.
Turkiye, meanwhile, has provided mainly political and diplomatic backing rather than large-scale direct funding.
Under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ankara has supported Hamas rhetorically and has hosted visits by its leaders.
On Friday, Turkiye said a ballistic missile fired from Iran had been shot down in Turkish airspace by NATO forces.
AFP
RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with Hussein Al-Sheikh, the Palestinian vice president.
The meeting on Monday in Riyadh discussed the regional situation and the efforts made to address challenges, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Al-Sheikh highlighted Palestine’s strong support for Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states and Jordan in the face of Iranian aggression. He condemned violations of their sovereignty and voiced his support for their right to ensure security and stability, the Wafa news agency reported.
“The Palestinian people … are always ready to stand alongside their brothers, who have never failed to support their rights and their struggle for freedom and independence,” he said.
The Palestinian delegation included Rawhi Fattouh, speaker of the Palestinian National Council; Maj. Gen. Majid Faraj, head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service; and Majdi Al-Khalidi, the president’s adviser for diplomatic affairs.
DUBAI/TEL AVIV/WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump issued another warning to Iran on Monday to open the Strait of Hormuz or risk US attacks on its oil wells and power plants.
“Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
Iran fired multiple waves of missiles at Israel on Monday and vowed to “punish the aggressor” as Israeli forces pounded Tehran and oil prices rose after Yemen’s Houthis entered the war in the Middle East.
Israel’s military said two drones from Yemen had been intercepted on Monday, two days after the Iran-aligned Houthis fired missiles at Israel for the first time since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran that has spread across the region.
Refinery hit
Israeli media also reported that an oil refinery in the northern city of Haifa had been hit on Monday, shortly after the military said it had detected new incoming missiles from Iran.
Television network Channel 12 showed thick black smoke billowing into the sky from the site, while Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services shared photos of a cylinder-shaped tank on fire.
It was not immediately clear whether the refinery had been directly hit by a missile from Iran or Lebanon, or by debris from an interception.
Footage acquired by AFP, filmed shortly after media reported the impact, showed a plume of dark smoke rising above cylindrical tanks.
AFP journalists who arrived at the scene around an hour later said the smoke had dissipated and firefighters were working to manage the fire.
The refinery in Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city, is located in a large industrial zone.
“Search and rescue forces, both reserve and regular forces, are on their way to a site in northern Israel where reports of impact have been received,” Israel’s military said in a statement, without specifying the precise location.
Israeli media said the site was also hit on March 19 when Iran fired missiles toward Israel.
Targeting Iran
The Israeli military said its forces were targeting what it described as military infrastructure in Tehran and had launched an attack on infrastructure in the Lebanese capital Beirut used by Hezbollah. The Iran-backed Lebanese group also fired more rockets at Israel on Monday, Israeli authorities said.
President Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States and Iran had been meeting “directly and indirectly” and that Iran’s new leaders – following the killing of Iran’s supreme leader on February 28 – have been “very reasonable”.
But he has also been sending more US troops to the region, leading to Iran’s parliament speaker accusing Washington of sending messages about possible negotiations while planning a ground invasion and prompting more defiance from Tehran.
Iran received messages via intermediaries indicating the United States’ willingness to negotiate, but deemed US proposals to be “unrealistic, illogical and excessive”, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.
Baghaei’s press conference took place a day after the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey met in Islamabad to hold initial discussions primarily focused on proposals to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.
“Our position is clear. We are under military aggression. Therefore, all our efforts and strength are focused on defending ourselves,” Baghaei said.
Iran defiant
Iran’s acting defence minister, Majid Ebn-e Reza, was quoted by the Iranian news agency IRNA on Monday as telling his Turkish counterpart that Tehran would continue to “punish aggressors, create deterrence and ensure war won’t repeat itself”.
The month-long war has spread across the region, killing thousands, causing the biggest disruption ever to energy supplies and hitting the global economy.
Oil prices extended gains on Monday, with Brent crude futures LCOc1 up 2.8 percent to nearly $116 a barrel at 0933 GMT.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran has severely disrupted energy markets as it is a conduit for about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
The Houthi attacks on Israel raise the prospect that they could target and block a second important shipping route, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The Financial Times quoted Trump on Sunday as saying the U.S. could seize Kharg Island, from where Iran exports much of its oil, but also that a ceasefire could come quickly. Taking control of Kharg would require ground troops.
‘Meaningful talks’
Pakistan, which is acting as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington, said it was preparing to host “meaningful talks” in the coming days aimed at ending the war. It was not clear whether the US and Iran had agreed to attend.
“I think we’ll make a deal with them, I’m pretty sure, but it’s possible we won’t,” Trump told reporters on Sunday evening as he traveled aboard Air Force One to Washington.
Trump said he thought the US had already accomplished “regime change” in Tehran after airstrikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other top officials, but said twice that their replacements seemed “reasonable” Khamenei was replaced by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei.
Trump also has the option of launching a ground offensive, with the US Department of Defense dispatching thousands of troops to the Middle East, but he has not approved any of those plans, according to multiple news outlets.
Israeli strikes
Four weeks of US-Israeli bombardment has failed to silence Iran’s missile and drone batteries, and Iran has replaced leaders killed in the attacks.
Iran confirmed on Monday the death of Revolutionary Guards Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri, several days after Israel said he had been killed.
Kuwait said on Monday it had intercepted five drones in areas under its protection.
Iraq’s Defence Ministry said the Mohamad Alaa air base, beside Baghdad International Airport, was hit by rockets early on Monday, destroying an aircraft but causing no casualties.
Global airlines have begun to increase fares and cut capacity to cope with the surge in the oil price, but economic analysts say the industry’s ability to remain profitable may depend on whether consumers pull back on flying as energy costs threaten household budgets.
A majority of Americans are opposed to the war and a military escalation, which would risk a protracted crisis, would likely weigh further on Trump’s already low approval ratings ahead of November midterm elections for Congress.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had ordered the military to further expand its operations in southern Lebanon, citing continued rocket fire by Hezbollah.
Israel has said it will seize a chunk of southern Lebanon to create a “buffer zone” against Hezbollah, stoking Lebanese fears of Israeli military occupation that could deepen instability and cause further displacement.
US-based rights group HRANA says nearly 3,500 people have been killed in Iran, including 1,550 civilians, while authorities in Lebanon say nearly 1,240 people have been killed there. Over 400 Hezbollah fighters have been killed since it fired on Israel on March 2, sources told Reuters, but it is unclear if the official death toll includes those fighters.
At least 100 people have been killed in Iraq and 13 U.S. service members have been killed.
(With agencies)
